Disclaimer- *looks into mirror* Nope, still not Rick.

Rick's voice- I OWN PERCY JACKSON NOW DIE!

*house explodes*

Forgive me if I get any facts about Ancient Greek mythology wrong, but you know, books these days about mythology are VERY basic and the internet isn't all to helpful.

Note that Malcolm won't become a main character, but he's replacing for Annabeth so he'll show up when making battle plans and such.

I'm working on a short Hunger Games/PJO crossover, which I won't post until I finish all 10 of its chapters, so it won't interrupt this book.

Also working on a Fanfiction about the Greek/Roman American Civil War, as well as some oneshots, PLUS its almost vacation and all my teachers are squeezing in one more quiz or test before the break, so I'm pretty stressed, as you can see.

XVIII

Leo

Leo REALLY hated it when someone messed with his creations. First Khione had destroyed Festus, now she wrecked the Argo II? Man, next time he met her, Leo was going to give the snow goddess a butt kicking.

As he tried to land the ruined ship onto a landing zone some campers had set up, night started to fall, and the beach landing lit up lanterns that shone brightly.

The ship landed without (too much) damage, and Athena and Hephaestus began patching up the ship. The Roman engineers tried to help a little, but as Leo had discovered in the Archimedes room, they weren't very good at "complicated" things like a big mother warship armed to the teeth and beyond.

As Conner and Travis led (and pick pocketed) them through the ruins, Leo felt an all-too familiar cold chill down his spine, the same kind right before the eidolon made him blow up parts of New Rome.

Something was wrong here. Very wrong.

After about a half hour of checking out what was left of this city, they turned a corner- and almost got busted.

Leo turned one leg, hissed and then shoved everyone back into the alley where they came from.

"Ow! What was-" Piper started but Leo put a hand to her mouth and made the quiet signal, holding a finger to his lips.

He peeked around again and confirmed what he saw.

An bonfire was lit and several hundred monsters were eating around it. They were still in battle gear, and the assortment of them were very well armed, Leo had to admit.

Every monster Leo could see had a complete set of Macedonian phalangite armor, including massive 21 foot long spears and a shield 2 feet in diameter. They could prove a problem. The Greek hoplite spears were only about 9 feet long, and the Romans had no way of penetrating a phalanx. Those shields could block a good amount of the pila.

He also caught sight of a few monsters armed like Hypaspists/hoplites with a shorter spear.

In the mix of it all was a giant. He wore classical Greek armor and carried a spear as tall as him- maybe 20 feet or so? His shield was as big as Leo, and his helmet covered most of his face. He himself was eating a cow carcass whole- bones and all.

"Who is that?" Jason asked. He was looking too.

"I don't know…. But he could prove a problem." Leo looked at him carefully.

"What is it? What's up?" Nico asked in an excited tone, like a kid at a mall wanting to know what all the commotion is about.

"They're right around the corner," Leo whispered back.

After a couple of minutes, Jason spoke up, "We have to get word back to the encampment. Come on."

*Linebreak like a boss*

"Mhmm," Malcolm muttered as he moved pieces across his strategy board. All the leaders were huddled in command tent, watching as he tried to formulate a plan.

"This isn't going to work," he hissed and swept the pieces of the board in frustration with a sigh. Leo figured that the situation must be pretty serious if a child of Athena couldn't come up with something.

"Remind me what assets we have," Malcolm said.

Jason counted off. "Uh, 1st cohort, 2nd cohort, Ares, Athena and Apollo."

Malcolm put his hand to his head. "We're not equipped to fight a Macedonian phalanx, and I doubt we'll have time to call supplies from Camp. Based on the map you gave me, there's way to few entrances to attempt a flanking attack. Also you claimed that the ruins were too messy to traverse, right?"

"Um, yeah," Conner said, wincing.

"Then there's no way unless we lure them out. And that could take weeks."

Jason piped up, "Couldn't you fly some guys over?"

Malcolm glared at him. "You really think I didn't consider that idea? We have a lot of pegasus, but according to your figures Leo, there's enough that as soon as they hit the ground, they'll get surrounded and killed."

The son of Jupiter frowned. "I didn't say they had to drop. They could fly around and shoot the monsters from behind, couldn't they?"

"Forget about the archers?"

Leo shuffled. He knew Malcolm would explode for what he would say. "Um, they have no archers. Its only pike men and swordsmen."

Malcolm didn't move for a second. Then, sure enough, he blew. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO?!" He shouted.

Everyone winced at the sound.

"Dude, sorry. Just try to think something up, k?" Leo tried to calm him down.

Fortunately, all Malcolm did was sigh and picking up the battle pieces to make something work. After a couple of tense minutes, he finally said, "Ok, I've got something. I want both the cohorts and the Ares cabin to attack from the 3 entrances to the square where Achilles died."

"Why are you using US as cannon fodder?" Octavian growled. "Why not you lowly Graceus?"

Leo could feel Malcolm resisting the urge to punch Octavian in the face. "Because, idiot, there's 90 of you alone and less than 50 of us. Use your head."

Connor muttered, "I'm not sure he has one," and everyone cracked up while Octavian did his best not to look embarrassed. He humphed and blended back into the small crowd.

"Meanwhile," Malcolm continued," Apollo will mount pegasus and shoot the phalanx from behind."

"And what are you going to do?" Octavian snarled. This time, Leo had to resist an urge to gut him right then and there. "Sit back and watch them slaughter us?"

"Unfortunately for you, no. My cabin will go blast through a weak point in the ruins and outflank the side that Ares is holding up."

"I thought you said they were impassable," Octavian glared at Malcolm.

"Nothing is impassible, augur. You just have to have the right tools. While we do that, Hephaestus will finish up repairs to the Argo II. Dismissed." And the meeting adjourned.

*linebreak*

The next morning, everyone suited up. Only one fight broke out between Greeks and Romans, which was good, considering the air of hostility between them. Jason, Frank, Reyna (she had come, assigning Dakota and an injured centurion from the 1st to take temporary control. Leo had a sneaking suspicion that she had come to try and win back Jason) and Hazel started shouting at the Romans to pick up the pace. Hazel was supossed to be only a regular legionary, but Leo guessed that being a member of the prophecy had its benefits.

The Greeks organized themselves into phalanx lines without (too much) frolicking around. Leo could feel some jealous glares from the Roman side as they watched their Greek counterparts play around as they geared up, while the Romans themselves were under strict orders.

The element of surprise was on their side as they (semi) orderly marched through the ruins, the Apollo campers above expertly taking out guards that the giant had stationed.

Everyone quietly shuffled into position. The idea was to gain as much ground as possible before the monsters organized themselves, making their formation more compact and giving the Apollo archers easier pickings.

Leo was put with Athena. Being a son of Hephaestus, he knew how to work explosives.

Leo's mind drifted and he didn't notice that the horn had sounded until the demigods let up a cry and charged.

He focused on priming a little toy he had made- C4 explosive mixed in with some Greek fire, specially made to punch through the thickest walls.

"Let's bogey," he said and set the explosive.

THANK YOU ALL FOR 300 REVIEWS! I don't have the time to write extra chapters for a super-massive update or something, so here's what you can do.

1) Ask me questions to answer in the next chapter

2) Request a oneshot to be written (I have a couple full stories being drafted and edited)

3) Both 1 and 2

I forgot what I was going to write here - ):

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I'll see you on after the world doesn't end :)

Review and favorite, they make my day!

Quote of the chapter- If a synchronized swimmer drowns, do all the others have to die too?'

Song of the chapter- A Thousand Years by Christina Perri (PERCABETH SONG COMPLETELY!)

Entertainment of the chapter- The Sims 3.